Method and system for economical beam forming in a radio communication system

ABSTRACT

Individual RF cables span between element/transceiver pairs in traditional beam forming systems, and the number of elements in an array used for beam forming is thus restricted. To reduce the number of RF cables but maintain or increase the number of elements in an antenna array, an embodiment of the present invention includes electronics at the base of an antenna tower that apply digital multiplexing codes to signals communicated to electronics located at the top of the antenna tower. The electronics at the top demultiplex the signals and transmit them via the antenna array. Received RF signals are processed in a like manner in a reverse direction. Fewer transmission paths (e.g., RF or fiber optic cables) than the number of elements in the antenna array can be used. More antenna elements provide benefits, such as higher user capacity, more antenna beams, narrower antenna beams, and higher in-building penetration.

RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/791,503, filed on Feb. 23, 2001, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/184,754, filed on Feb. 24, 2000, the entire teachings of the above application(s) are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In wireless voice and data communications, it is desirable to maximize the number of users in a base transceiver station (BTS) sector while at the same time providing high signal quality (i.e., high SNR) for the users. One way to achieve both conditions is through the use of a beam forming antenna. A BTS can generate plural directed beams by employing an antenna array and digitizing signals transmitted to and received from the antenna array in a weighted manner (i.e., amplitude and/or phase) that produces the plural beams. Since the beams have high gain in the direction of the main lobe of the composite beam, high SNR is achieved. And, since the BTS can change the weights associated with each antenna element in the array to cause the beam to scan, a high gain can be maintained throughout the duration of a user's wireless connection with the base station.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communications network 100 having three base transceiver stations 105 a, 105 b, 105 c.

The first BTS 105 a provides three beams 107 a, 107 b, and 107 c produced by beam forming. The first beam 107 a is used for communicating to a first user 109 a in the first BTS sector. The first user 109 a is inside a building 108. Because the first beam 107 a is produced through the use of beam forming, it has excess link margin to allow deeper penetration into the building 108 for communicating with the user 109 a. Further, multi-path noise caused by a beam reflecting off other buildings is minimized or avoided due to the formed beam 107 a.

The first BTS 105 a produces a second beam 107 b to communicate with a second user 109 b in the first BTS sector. In this case, the second beam 107 b is purposely kept short so as to reduce pilot pollution where BTS sectors intersect.

The first BTS 105 a also produces a third beam 107 c for communicating with a third user 109 c in the first BTS sector. Similar to the first beam 107 a, the third beam 107 c reduces multipath noise effects due to its directiveness. Also, the third user 109 c is closer to the third BTS 105 c; but, because of the high gain produced by beam forming, the third beam 107 c of the first BTS 105 a is able to reach the third user 109 c to assist the third BTS 105 c, which is heavily loaded with other users, as will be discussed. The antenna gain is proportional to 20 LOG(number of elements) plus vertical gain. For example, for a sixteen element array four feet wide, the beam forming may provide over thirty-seven dB versus fifteen dB for conventional antennas.

The second BTS 105 b provides two beams, 111 a, 111 b produced by beam forming. The first beam 111 a communicates with a first user 113 a in the second BTS sector. The second beam 111 b provides a link to a second user 113 b in the second BTS sector. Because of the high-link margin produced by beam forming, sparse initial deployment provides lower initial capital requirements for the wireless communications network 100.

The third BTS 105 c is able to provide four beams 115 a, 115 b, 115 c, 115 d in a beam forming manner to communicate with high-gain to four users 117 a, 117 b, 117 c, and 117 d, respectively.

As can be seen from the beams 107, 111, 115 produced by the base transceiver stations 105, the use of beam forming eliminates noise problems caused by multipath, pilot signal pollution, and interference from signals from adjacent base transceiver stations. Further, the high gains afforded by the beams produced by the beam forming provides a so-called virtual point-to-point RF effect.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of the prior art base transceiver station 105 a. The base transceiver station 105 a has an antenna assembly 205, base electronics 210, and base station tower 215. The base electronics 210 comprise transceivers 220, weighting electronics (e.g., Butler Matrix, FFT or other) 225, and user channel cards 230.

As shown in detail in FIG. 2B, the transceivers 220 each comprise a transmitter 235, receiver 240, and duplexer 245. The duplexer 245 is coupled to a single element 255 in a sector antenna array 250, as shown in FIG. 2C. The coupling between the transceivers 220 and the elements 255 of the sector antenna array 250 is made via parallel cables 265 a, 265 b, 265 c, and so on. The number of parallel cables used is equal to the number of transceiver/element pairs. Each cable is expensive, heavy, and sensitive to temperature changes. Similarly, the transceivers are expensive, relatively large in size, and sensitive to temperature and humidity changes.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 2A, extending upward from the base electronics 210 is an antenna assembly support pole 260, on which the sector antenna array(s) 250 is/are supported. Typically, antenna assembly support pole 260 is capable of supporting nine parallel cables 265. Because (i) it is useful to have three sector antenna arrays 250 for transmitting and receiving in 360° and (ii) each sector antenna array 250 preferably includes at least four elements 255, nine parallel cables 265 is limiting to the capacity of the base transceiver station 105 a.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The problem with traditional beam forming systems is that the number of RF transceiver systems required in a base terminal station (BTS) adds complexity and cost to the system. RF transceivers, including cabling and other associated components, have performance characteristics that must be calibrated to match each other in order to make the beam forming operate properly. Since the RF transceiver, cabling, and other associated components tend to have gain and phase offset drift over time, temperature, and humidity, the traditional beam forming system must be supported by plural, expensive, calibration electronics to maintain performance.

Moreover, in traditional beam forming systems, the weight and size of RF cabling tends to be significant for single-pole structures that support the antenna arrays. Typical single-pole structures can handle nine RF cables. Since, in traditional beam forming systems, each element in an antenna array requires an individual RF cable spanning between the element/transceiver pairs, the number of elements in an array used for beam forming is restricted in number for single-pole structures.

Cost/benefit analysis shows that a maximum of four antenna elements are practical in traditional beam forming systems. Fewer antenna elements in an antenna array result in fewer users that can be supported by a beam forming system at any one time. Also, fewer antenna elements produce a broader beam than a higher number of antenna elements. The broader beam tends to be a restriction on overall system performance because it is a lower antenna gain than a narrower beam (i.e., 3 dB gain for one-half the beam width), among other reasons.

Addressing the problems of the prior art beam forming systems, the principles of the present invention apply digital multiplexing techniques to a beam forming system to reduce RF components and improve system performance. The reduction in RF components eliminates the need for RF channel-to-RF channel calibration and reduces weight, complexity, and cost. Reducing weight, complexity, and cost allows the number of elements in the antenna array to be increased. More antenna elements results in at least the following benefits: higher user capacity, higher SNR, more antenna beams, narrower antenna beams, higher in-building penetration, and lower cost components.

Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is a method and system for receiving signals in a beam forming manner in a radio communication system. A signal is detected at a given element of plural elements forming an antenna array. A code corresponding to the given element is applied to the system at the given element to distinguish the signal from among plural signals received by the plural elements.

The coded signals from the plurality of elements are summed together to form a code division multiplexed signal. The system then produces a composite baseband signal corresponding to the code division multiplexed signal. In one embodiment, producing the composite baseband signal includes (i) controlling the gain, (ii) down-converting the code division multiplexed signal, and (iii) sampling the code division multiplexed signal, or a representation thereof.

The system may further extract the given signal from the given element. Extracting the given signal includes multiplying the composite baseband signal by the code applied to the given signal. The system then applies a weight to the extracted signal. Further, the system may (i) extract a subset of signals from the baseband signals, (ii) apply weights to the extracted signals, and (iii) sum the multiple weighted extracted signals to yield signals producing a spatial beam forming effect. This provides beam forming in a simple way.

To produce beam forming in an elegant way, the system (a) replicates the codes applied to the signals at the elements, (b) applies weights to the replicated codes, (c) sums the coded weights to form a composite signal, (d) multiplies the received baseband composite signal by the weighted composite signal, (e) forms a single composite signal, and (f) integrates the single composite signal over the duration of the code to yield a spatial beam forming effect.

Applying a code to the signal at the given element can be performed by modulating the code onto the RF signal. Then, the system samples a representation of the modulated RF signal, such as RF, baseband, or intermediate frequency (IF) representation, where the timing between the modulation and the sampling are locked to avoid sampling modulation-related transitions.

The codes applied to the signal may be orthogonal codes. In one embodiment, the orthogonal codes are Walsh codes.

The method and system just described may be deployed in a base station in the radio communication system.

Another aspect of the present invention is a method and system for transmitting RF signals using beam forming in a radio communication system. The system receives a data signal to be transmitted from, say, a data network. The system then generates weights modulated by codes, which correspond to respective antenna elements. The coded weights are modulated with the data signal being transmitted to produce a coded, weighted signal for beam forming.

The system may further modulate the coded weights with other data signals to be transmitted to produce respective, coded, weighted signals for beam forming. The coded, weighted signals can then be summed together to form a composite code division multiplexed signal. Further, the system converts the composite code division multiplexed signal to an analog representation, then up-converts the analog representation to an RF representation of the code division multiplexed signal.

Still referring to transmitting RF signals, proximal to the antenna array, at a subset of elements in the antenna array, the system decomposes the composite RF representation into respective RF representations comprising at least one weight and at least one data signal to be transmitted corresponding to the respective elements to form at least one beam having a pattern formed by the respective weights. The weights include amplitude information, phase information, or a combination thereof to produce the formed beam.

In transmitting, as in the case of receiving, the codes used by the system are typically orthogonal codes. In one embodiment, the orthogonal codes are Walsh codes.

The methods and systems just described for receiving and transmitting RF signals using beam forming in a radio communication system may be deployed in a base station.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a prior art wireless communication system employing beam forming;

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a prior art base transceiver station employed in the wireless communication system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of a transceiver used in the base transceiver station of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram of a sector antenna array of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a split electronics approach embodiment of a base transceiver station producing beam forming according to the principles of the present invention deployable in the wireless communication system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of a transceiver used in the base transceiver station of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C is a schematic diagram of array electronics used in the base transceiver station of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3D is a schematic diagram of weight multiplexer electronics used in the array electronics of FIG. 3C;

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of a symbol operated on by the base transceiver station system of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4B is a block diagram of a chip composing a part of the symbol of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram of an integrated electronics approach embodiment of the base transceiver station of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram of array electronics used in the base transceiver station of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 5C is a schematic diagram of beam multiplexer electronics used in the array electronics of FIG. 5B;

FIG. 6A is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a receiving process in the base transceiver stations of FIGS. 3A and 5A;

FIG. 6B is a block diagram of a receiver module used in the receiving process of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 7 is an abstract diagram of coding mathematics used in the receiving process of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 8A is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a transmitting process in the base transceiver stations of FIGS. 3A and 5A; and

FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram of a transmitter module used in the transmitting process of FIG. 8A

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A description of preferred embodiments of the invention follows.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram of a base transceiver station 300 in which the principles of the present invention are employed. The base transceiver station 300 includes an antenna assembly 302, base electronics 306, and base station tower 313, on which the antenna assembly 302 is supported.

The antenna assembly 302, in this embodiment, includes three sector antenna arrays 305. The sector antenna arrays 305 include electronics, described later, and elements 255.

The base electronics 306 include a single transceiver 370 for all elements 205 of the sector antenna arrays 305. Further, the base electronics 306 include channel cards 365 with integrated weighting electronics, obviating separate weighting electronics 225 (FIG. 2A).

The base station tower 313 include only a single RF cable 265 a in this embodiment. In other embodiments, the RF cable 265 a is replaced with a fiber optic cable, wire cable, or optical or radio frequency wireless link.

The present invention simplifies the base transceiver station 300 using beam forming by using codes, such as orthogonal codes (e.g., Walsh codes), to code division multiplex the RF signals comprising data or information signals, where each code corresponds to a respective element 255 in the sector antenna array 305. Once coded, the RF signals can then be transmitted on a single path (e.g., RF cable 265 a) or subset of paths being fewer in number than the number of elements 255 in the antenna array 305. It should also be understood that the same technique could be applied to data signals represented in intermediate-frequencies (IF) or baseband frequencies.

The use of code division multiplexing shifts the high cost, high-complexity hardware of the prior art to low-cost, low-complexity digital techniques. The digital techniques can be applied to both transmit and receive functions of the communication system. The present invention does not change the mathematics of beam forming, just how the mathematics of beam forming are applied.

The number of transceivers in the beam forming system can be reduced to as few as one transceiver for all elements 255 in the antenna array 305. For three-sector array panels or other arrangements, the present invention allows a single transceiver to be used to support all elements in all three sectors.

Since the number of RF cables, spanning between the RF transceiver(s) 370 and the antenna elements 255, is equal to the number of RF transceivers 370, the size and weight of the RF cabling is minimized by reducing the number of RF transceivers 370.

In an alternative embodiment, the transceiver(s) 370 is/are integrated into array electronics 308 that are deployed on the base station tower 313 with the elements 255 in the antenna array 305. A fiber optic cable, for instance, carries data to/from the transceiver deployed on the tower and the base electronics 306 at the base of the tower. In this case, both the base electronics 306 and transceiver 370 are equipped with fiber optic communication means well known in the art.

For receiving information signals (e.g. voice or data) having data to be transmitted, the code division multiplexing involves applying codes to the RF signal at the antenna elements 255 and summing the RF signals to form a composite (i.e., single) code division multiplexed signal. In individual baseband receiver modules, a weighted code generator generates code division multiplexed signals in which weights are coded with the same codes applied to the respective signals of the respective antenna elements. When the coded signals are modulated together, the signals and beam forming weights are extracted and multiplied as a result of the common codes, in a typical code division multiplexing manner.

The code generators can be time-locked to ensure signal integrity. Further, A/D sampling of the RF signal can be synchronized to ensure sampling does not occur during modulation transitions, resulting in a high-quality modulator. In this way, perfect demodulation can be achieved with inexpensive electronic components.

For transmitting the information signals, the receiving process is basically reversed. It should be noted that in conventional, non-beam forming systems, a single, transmitter power amplifier is used to increase the power of the transmitting RF signal. However, in the beam forming design, smaller, less-powerful transmitter power amplifiers are capable of being used, saving an order of magnitude in cost over a traditional transmitter amplifier.

Referring to FIG. 3B, the single transceiver 370 includes a transmitter 375 and a receiver 380. The transmitter 375 transmits a composite Tx modulation signal, with beam weights for all elements 255, from channel cards 365 to the array electronics 308. Similarly, the receiver 380 receives a composite Rx signal from the array electronics 308 being sent to the channel cards 365.

The array electronics 308 are located proximal to the sector antenna array 305. As shown in FIG. 3C, inside the array electronics 308 is a splitter 310, which receives RF signals via the RF Tx cable (not shown) in the RF cable 265 a from the transmitter 375. The splitter 310 splits the received signal to among plural weight multiplexer electronics (Mux Elx) 315. The weight multiplexer electronics 315 are each coupled to respective elements 255 in respective sector antenna arrays 305.

The weight multiplexer electronics 315 also receive signals from a code generator, in this case a Walsh code generator 320. The Walsh code generator 320 receives digital and timing control from the base electronics 306. In the receiving path, the weight multiplexer electronics 315 provide RF signals to a summer 325. The summer 325 transmits a composite RF Rx signal to the receiver 380 via an RF Rx cable (not shown) in the RF cable 265 a.

As shown in FIG. 3D, inside the weight multiplexer electronics 315, there are circuits for transmitting an RF signal and receiving an RF signal. In the transmitting path, the RF signal is received from the splitter 310 by a modulator 330. The RF signal is modulated with a Walsh code from the Walsh code generator 320 to extract the correct signal(s) and beam weighting(s) (i.e., intended for the associated antenna element) from the composite RF Tx modulation signal, as described in more detail in reference to FIGS. 6A and 7. The extracted signal is then filtered by a filter 335, such as a bandpass filter, and amplified by a power amplifier 340. The amplified signal is output from the transmitter power amplifier 340 to the respective antenna element 255 via a duplexer 345, which alternates between transmit and receive in a typical manner.

Continuing to refer to the weight multiplexer electronics 315, in the receiving path, the antenna element 255 receives an RF Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal from a mobile station (not shown). The received signal travels from the element 255 to the duplexer 345. In turn, the duplexer 345 passes the received signal to a first filter 350, such as a bandpass filter. Following the filter 350, a low noise amplifier (LNA) 355 amplifies the received signal. The amplified received signal is then modulated by a modulator 330 with a Walsh code from the Walsh generator 320. The coded RF signal is then filtered by a second filter 360, such as a bandpass filter, and summed with other coded, received, RF signals—from other weight multiplexer electronics 315—by a summer 325 to form a composite, coded, RF signal. The summer 325 then transmits the composite Rx signal from all elements 255 to the receiver 380 in the transceiver 370.

It should be understood that forming the composite coded signal can be done in other ways, such as placing summing units between the low-noise amplifier 335 and modulator 330, without departing from the principles of the present invention.

In operation, the base electronics 306 and array electronics 308 are processing symbols. A symbol is graphically illustrated in FIG. 4A.

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of a symbol 400 having eight chips 405 a, 405 b, . . . , 405 h (collectively 405). The chips occur at a given chip rate. For example, the given chip rate may be 1.2288 MHZ.

A chip 405 a is one bit of a pseudo-noise (PN) sequence. Each chip, such as chip 405 a, is sampled a given number of times, such as eight times. The length of each sample corresponds to a multiplexing code period. To achieve the beam forming, the samples are further divided into bits 415. Each bit 415 corresponds to a portion of a code applied to (i.e., dedicated to) a respective antenna element 255; therefore, the length of the code is typically equal to the number of antenna elements. So, for example, for eight antenna elements and a sample rate of eight samples per chip, it is said that the code is 64×. For a signal code rate of 1.2288 MHZ, the multiplexing code, Cm, is 64×1.2288. The multiplexing code, Cm, is discussed elsewhere herein as Walsh codes, Wi, or more generically as orthogonal codes. The codes may also be non-orthogonal codes.

Referring again to FIG. 3D, using the example provided in FIG. 4A, following the LNA 355, the chip rate is seen as 1.2288 MHZ. After modulating the chip rate with the Walsh code, the code rate is said to be 64×. Similar processing takes place in the transmitting path.

FIG. 5A is an alternative embodiment of the base station 300 employing the principles of the present invention. In the base station 500 of FIG. 5A, the base electronics 306 include channel cards 515 with integrated weighting electronics. In this embodiment, the channel cards 515 transmit signals to be transmitted by the elements 255 of sector antenna array(s) 505 to mobile station(s) via a single fiber 520 for all three sector antenna arrays 505.

In the sector antenna arrays 505, as shown in detail in FIGS. 5B and 5C, array electronics 508 include a fiber transceiver 510 to transceive (i.e., transmit and/or receive) signals to and from the channel cards 515 in the base electronics 306. The fiber transceiver 510 (i) passes received signals, optionally with some processing having been performed on the received signals, from the base electronics 306 to the transmitter 375 and (ii) transmits signals received from the receiver 380 to the base electronics 306.

By using a single fiber 520 for passing data between the base electronics 306 and the array electronics 508, the weight of cabling is reduced from using RF cables to using the single fiber 520 for all three sectors. It should be understood that additional fibers to carry signals may be employed without departing from the principles of the present invention.

Fiber optic communications have an advantage over RF communications in at least two ways: first, fiber optic communication components tend to be less sensitive to environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity, and second, fiber optic communications keep EMI noise to a minimum, which is more difficult to control in the RF cable 265 a (FIG. 3A).

FIG. 6A is a block diagram annotated with receiving processing flow. In the first step 605, the signal RxSignalN (i.e., received RF signal) from a mobile station (not shown) is received by the N'th element of the antenna array. It should be understood that a similar RF signal is received by each of the elements 255 of the respective sector antenna array.

Following the first step 605, the received RF signal is modulated with a Walsh code, Walsh N, by the modulator 330. Following the filter 360, the second step 610 is completed, at which point the signal received by the N'th element of the antenna array is equal to WN*RxSignalN.

Following the Summer Wilkenson combiner 632, a third step 615 is completed. This third step results in a composite-received signal, which is represented by the following equation: CompositeRx=Σi(Wi*RxSignalk,i) at RF frequencies, where i indexes the elements and k indexes the individual information signals.

In the receiver and A/D conversion, a fourth step is completed in which the composite-received signal at RF is converted into a baseband digital representation. The baseband digital representation of the composite received signal is represented by the following equation: CompositeRx=Σi(Wi*RxSignalk,i) at complex baseband.

Alternatively, the composite-received signal at RF is converted into an intermediate-frequency (IF) representation and processed thereafter accordingly.

In the complex baseband embodiment, the complex, baseband, composite, received signal is then processed by individual receiver modules 640.

Referring now to FIG. 6B, in the individual receiver modules, a fifth step 625 is performed in which a weighted Walsh generator produces a composite weight signal at complex baseband, where the composite weight signal is represented by the following equation: CompositeWeight=Σi(Wi*Weightk,i) at complex baseband.

In the weighted Walsh code generator 645, a modulator (not shown) modulates the Walsh codes with the weights. The Walsh code generator 645 (i) produces the same Walsh codes as the Walsh codes used to code the received RF signals and (ii) is synchronized with the Walsh code generator generating the Walsh codes with which the received RF signal(s) is/are modulated. The weights correspond with the elements of the respective sector antenna array receiving the signals from the mobile station to produce a pre-determined spatial beam forming effect (i.e., beam pattern) to reconstruct the signal in a beam forming manner.

The composite weight signal of step five 625 and composite received signal at baseband of the fourth step 620 are (i) modulated together by a modulator 650 in the individual receiver modules 640 then (ii) low-pass filtered by a digital low-pass filter 655, which produces the results of step six 630.

The results of step six include a beam formed received signal, which is represented by the following equation at complex baseband: BeamFormedRxSignal(k)=Σ(Σi Wi*Weightk,i*Σi WiRxSignalk,i), where the external summation is performed over the duration of the multiplexing code. The equation can be reduced to the following equation: BeamFormedRxSignali=Σi(RxSignali*Weightk,i) at complex baseband. In this last equation, all Walsh modulation is removed and cross products have multiplied to near zero by the modulator 650 (see the discussion below in reference to FIG. 7) and any remaining noise has been filtered off by the digital low pass filter 655. In other words, the final equation represents the beam formed received signal.

FIG. 7 is a graphical representation of the mathematics embedded in the receiving and transmitting processes occurring through the use of employing the Walsh codes. Walsh codes are orthogonal codes and are represented by the grid 705, where the variable i is used to index the rows and the variable m is used to index the columns. The rows of the grid 705 are represented by the Walsh coded weights WiWeightk,i. The columns of the grid 705 are representative of the Walsh coded signal WiRxSignali,m. Because of the orthogonal quality of the Walsh codes, multiplying Walsh codes that are not the same go toward zero. Therefore, off-diagonal code match-ups 710 are “zeroed out,” as represented by the X's at off-diagonal row and column intersections. Codes that match up along the diagonal 715 are equal to or approximate unity. Thus, the weights and received signals associated with the codes that line up along the diagonal 715 are both multiplied together and multiplied by unity, whereas weights and received signals that are associated with off-diagonal code match-ups 710 are multiplied together and by zero, thus illustrating the results of step six 630 (FIG. 6A).

FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram of the transmitting processing flow. Inside each of plural transmitter modules 835, as shown in detail in FIG. 8B, a standard modulator 840 modulates a data signal to be transmitted. The modulated data signal is modulated with a weighted Walsh code generated by a weighted Walsh code generator 845. The results of the first step 805 is produced by the weighted Walsh code generator 845, where the weighted Walsh codes are represented by the following equation: CompositeWeight(j)=Σi(Wi*Weightj,i) at complex baseband, where j indexes the unique information signals and beams and i indexes the antenna elements 255.

The composite weight signal and the modulated data signal are modulated together by a modulator 850 that produces the result of the second step 810, which is the beam to be transmitted. The beam to be transmitted in the second step 810 is represented by the following equation: BeamTx(j)=Σi(Wi*Weightj,i*TxSignalj) at complex baseband.

Referring again to FIG. 8A, each transmitting module 835 provides a digital representation of the transmission beam signal at complex baseband to a digital summer 855. The output from the digital summer 855 produces the result of the third step 815, which is the composite transmission signal represented by the following equation: CompositeTx=ΣjBeamTxj at complex baseband. This is the composite transmission signal to be transmitted by the antenna array to the users of the mobile stations (not shown) communicating with the base station system.

A transmitter and D/A converter 860 provides the results for the fourth step 820, which is a composite transmission signal at RF for all elements 255, users, and sectors. Thus, the fourth step 820 includes all information for all beams being produced by the beam forming system. A Summer Wilkenson splitter 865 splits the composite transmission signal at RF for all elements 255, users, and sectors.

Following the splitter 865, filters 870, such as bandpass filters, filter the composite signals to produce the results for the fifth step 825. The fifth step 825 includes a respective weight and signal for a given element in the antenna array. Thus, the following equation is provided in the fifth step 825: for user j, Σi(Wi*Weightj,i*TxSignalj).

The result of the fifth step 825 is modulated with codes from the Walsh code generator 320 by the modulator 330. The Walsh code generator 320 is synchronized with and provides the same Walsh codes as the Walsh code generator employed by the weighted Walsh code generator 845 in each of the transmitter modules 835.

The output from the modulators 330 is the composite transmission signal of the sixth step 830 to be radiated by the respective antenna element 255. For the N'th element, the composite transmission signal, CompositeTxSignal(N)=ΣjTxSignalj,N, where TxSignalj,N=WeightN*TxSignalj. In other words, by modulating the coded composite signal to be transmitted by the coded N'th Walsh code, only the weighted transmission signal to be transmitted by the N'th element of the antenna array remains, as described in reference to FIG. 7.

A base station employing the-principles of the present invention just described allows a significantly lower interference level between users in a multi-user, multi-path environment. Further, the base station allows a higher number of users or users at a higher data rate to occupy the-same cell and spectrum while at the same time reducing (i) the cost of a sectored cellular system, and (ii) the cost of a beam forming system. Adding the subscriber antenna array allows a “virtual point-to-point RF connection” with very high data rate/SNR and liability. When combined with a “non-orthogonal BTS code overlay”, additional users may be served.

While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims. 

1. Apparatus for beam forming in a radio communication system, comprising: a first electronics assembly located distal from a plurality of elements in an antenna array used for beam forming; a second electronics assembly, located proximal to the antenna array; and transmission means spanning between said first and second electronics assemblies having fewer transmission paths than the number of elements in the antenna array being used in a beam-forming manner.
 2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission means is a fiber optic cable.
 3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission means is an RF cable.
 4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission means includes wires supporting baseband signals.
 5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission means is a wireless link.
 6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission means is a single transmission path selected from link types composed of: wire, fiber optic, RF cabling, RF wireless or optical wireless.
 7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in at least one of the electronics assemblies, to transmit a subset of signals to the elements of the antenna array, at least one code is applied to form at least one code division multiplexed signal composed of information corresponding to plural elements of the antenna array; and said at least one code is applied to said at least one code division multiplexed signal to decompose the de-multiplexed signal.
 8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the codes are applied in the first electronics assembly.
 9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the codes are applied once in the first electronics assembly and applied once in the second electronics assembly.
 10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein, for more than one data signal, each data signal is multiplied by code division multiplexed weights, where the weights are specific to the respective data signal, and summed together to form a composite code division multiplexed signal.
 11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the composite code division multiplexed signal is transmitted across a single transmission path between the first and second electronics assemblies.
 12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the codes are orthogonal codes.
 13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the orthogonal codes are Walsh codes.
 14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein an uncoded data signal is transmitted between the first and second electronic assemblies.
 15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein a coded signal is transmitted between the first and second electronic assemblies.
 16. The apparatus as claimed in-Claim 15, wherein the codes are orthogonal codes.
 17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the orthogonal codes are Walsh codes.
 18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, deployed in a base transceiver station.
 19. A method for beam forming in a radio communication system, comprising: transceiving at least one respective representation of at least one data signal along fewer transmission paths than the number of elements in an antenna array being used in a beam forming manner; and using the antenna array, transceiving respective RF representations of said at least one data signal to a mobile station in a beam forming manner.
 20. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein transceiving said at least one representation uses fiber optic communications techniques.
 21. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein transceiving said at least one representation uses RF communications techniques.
 22. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein transceiving said at least one representation uses wire-supported communications techniques.
 23. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein transceiving said at least one representation uses wireless communications techniques.
 24. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein transceiving said at least one representation uses a single transmission path selected from link types composed of: wire, fiber optic, RF cabling, RF wireless or optical wireless.
 25. The method as claimed in claim 19, further including: applying a code set to form at least one code division multiplexed signal composed of information corresponding to plural elements of the antenna array; and applying said at least one code set to said at least one code division multiplexed signal to decompose the de-multiplexed signal.
 26. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the code set is applied at least twice proximal to the antenna array.
 27. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the code set is applied at least once proximal to the antenna array and at least once distal from the antenna array.
 28. The method as claimed in claim 25, further including, for more than one data signal, (i) multiplying each data signal by code division multiplexed weights, where the weights are specific to the respective data signal, and (ii) summing the resulting coded, weighted, data signals together to form a composite code division multiplexed signal.
 29. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the composite code division multiplexed signal is transceived across a single transmission path for accessing the antenna array.
 30. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the codes are orthogonal codes.
 31. The method as claimed in claim 30, wherein the orthogonal codes are Walsh codes.
 32. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one data signal is uncoded.
 33. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one data signal is coded.
 34. The method as claimed in claim 33, wherein the codes are orthogonal codes.
 35. The method as claimed in claim 34, wherein the orthogonal codes are Walsh codes.
 36. The method as claimed in claim 19, deployed in a base transceiver station.
 37. Apparatus for beam forming in a radio communication system, comprising: means for transceiving at least one respective representation of at least one data signal along fewer transmission paths than the number of elements in an antenna array being used in a beam forming manner; and using the antenna array, means for transceiving respective RF representations of said at least one data signal to a mobile station in a beam forming manner. 